Newbie questions around booking first QF Award flight

[Stargazer]

Been reading a few threads with cancellation of flights by QF partners and Qantas As a newbie this worries me enormously. What if you have a business class rewards seat and the flight is cancelled just prior to departure - say a day or two. Will Qantas put you on an alternate flight with the same classic rewards business ticket. What if the next few flights are heavily booked and there are no reward seats in business class. If put on a flight the next day who is responsible for lost accommodation nights, failure to depart on a cruise ship and therefore the entire journey is lost. From reading the threads it appears that experienced travellers know a thing or two and can put forward options to overcome problems. But I would end up in a puddle of tears not knowing what to do. And threads indicate that if I can get through to the Qantas call centre little help is forthcoming. In fact call centre staff may compromise ongoing bookings. So what does a newbie do.

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

Been reading a few threads with cancellation of flights by QF partners and Qantas As a newbie this worries me enormously. What if you have a business class rewards seat and the flight is cancelled just prior to departure - say a day or two. Will Qantas put you on an alternate flight with the same classic rewards business ticket. What if the next few flights are heavily booked and there are no reward seats in business class. If put on a flight the next day who is responsible for lost accommodation nights, failure to depart on a cruise ship and therefore the entire journey is lost. From reading the threads it appears that experienced travellers know a thing or two and can put forward options to overcome problems. But I would end up in a puddle of tears not knowing what to do. And threads indicate that if I can get through to the Qantas call centre little help is forthcoming. In fact call centre staff may compromise ongoing bookings. So what does a newbie do.

Have good travel insurance, understand the cover 100%, know your rights and you will be good to go.

 

[aikman]

Book two sets of reward flights. Less likely that both will get cancelled.

 

[tgh]

Clearly Qantas International cannot be relied upon to provide the service they offer in a timely manner ; points awards are (arguably?) the least important revenue category and administered as such.
We are about to recommence our travels and we will avoid QF like the plague ; our points can sit for better days.
We will pay cash to more reliable carriers and still allow extra time.
Historically we could expect to have day in abeyance for a ship sail date, now we will allow at least two.
It all adds up to a more expensive and thoughtfully planned holiday

 

[Stargazer]

Have good travel insurance, understand the cover 100%, know your rights and you will be good to go.

what are my rights. Can this be found on the Qantas website? Can you provide the URL. Or do you mean the rights contained within the insurance policy. But although I might be covered by insurance it’s heartbreaking to lose your intended travel.

Book two sets of reward flights. Less likely that both will get cancelled.

But what about the penalties when you cancel one seat prior to travel. Aren”t these substantial. Why would one seat be cancelled by Qantas not two as they are both in your name.

 

[Anna]

How much time have you got between expected landing at your destination, and the cruise departure?

What is the first port the ship will call at? Most cruise lines will still let you join the cruise at one of the ports even if you miss the original departure. It's not unheard of for people to miss sailaway due to flight problems, especially if they didn't leave at least 24 hours gap between the flight landing and the ship sailing. Get in touch with the cruise line and tell them you'll be joining late, in the unlikely event you don't land when you expect to. Maybe do some advance research about how you could get from the original departure port to the first call port if you had to get there on your own.

Have you made sure your travel insurance has cruise cover? If not, get it added before you leave. Not so much because of flight problems, but to cover any unexpected onboard medical issues which can be ruinously expensive if you're not covered. (Even normally healthy people can get injured and need medical treatment onboard).

 

[sqrt()]

But what about the penalties when you cancel one seat prior to travel. Aren”t these substantial. Why would one seat be cancelled by Qantas not two as they are both in your name.

Two sets of bookings, not two seats. Book the same number of seats on another service on QF or a OW carrier (or other carrier you have points with) on or around your intended booking. (Theortically) protects you from one being cancelled

Obviously requires you to have the QFF points.

Award cancellation fee is 5000 QFF points as of a few months ago. Not substantial for anyone churning or flying cash J/F a lot.

 

[justinbrett]

QF reward on QF metal is pretty safe in event of late cancellation. It’s partner awards that are the problem.

 

[Stargazer]

Award cancellation fee is 5000 QFF points as of a few months ago. Not substantial for anyone churning or flying cash J/F a lot.

thank you for the recent posts. Incredible advice for a newbie. Could someone explain “anyone churning or flying cash J/F a lot”. Thanks

 

[Anna]

People earning a lot of points through multiple credit card sign up bonuses, or people who pay cash to fly J (business) or F (first).

 

[travelislife]

Two sets of bookings, not two seats. Book the same number of seats on another service on QF or a OW carrier (or other carrier you have points with) on or around your intended booking. (Theortically) protects you from one being cancelled

Obviously requires you to have the QFF points.

Award cancellation fee is 5000 QFF points as of a few months ago. Not substantial for anyone churning or flying cash J/F a lot.

I actually don’t think this is great advice. Barley anyone would be trying to book 2 near identical itineraries on different carriers for the same time. Better advice is to just watch your itinerary closely as it gets closer to travel. You have to book with confidence and not worry about things outside your control. With the amount of travel it is still very low odds of it all completely going to cough.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

what are my rights. Can this be found on the Qantas website? Can you provide the URL. Or do you mean the rights contained within the insurance policy. But although I might be covered by insurance it’s heartbreaking to lose your intended travel.

But what about the penalties when you cancel one seat prior to travel. Aren”t these substantial. Why would one seat be cancelled by Qantas not two as they are both in your name.

You ‘rights’ are set out in the Qantas Conditions of Carriage. They state what will happen in the event of a delay or cancellation.

If the cancellation is within QF’s control they will get you on their next available service. Note that ‘next available’ may not be until the next day, or even later, if flights are already full.

If the cancellation is outside QF’s control they will try and get you alternative flights, but if there aren’t any, they will refund you. A partner airline cancelling is likely to come under this category.

Travel insurance may or may not cover your circumstances. You need to read the insurance PDS (product disclosure statement) to see if events are covered by airline cancellation. Some policies won’t cover that. Some policies may work with you to get you to your destination, others will simply refund you what you’ve lost and you may not get to travel.

I would say if you are booked on Qantas, you chances of flying are almost 100%. In the unlikely event of a disruption you should expect to arrive within 24 hours of your original schedule. If you have an important event such as a cruise, allow at least one - preferably two - days as a buffer, just in case.

 

[RooFlyer]

Clearly Qantas International cannot be relied upon to provide the service they offer in a timely manner ; points awards are (arguably?) the least important revenue category and administered as such.
We are about to recommence our travels and we will avoid QF like the plague ; our points can sit for better days.
We will pay cash to more reliable carriers and still allow extra time.
Historically we could expect to have day in abeyance for a ship sail date, now we will allow at least two.
It all adds up to a more expensive and thoughtfully planned holiday

100% my view and practice these days.

 

[sqrt()]

I actually don’t think this is great advice. Barley anyone would be trying to book 2 near identical itineraries on different carriers for the same time. Better advice is to just watch your itinerary closely as it gets closer to travel. You have to book with confidence and not worry about things outside your control. With the amount of travel it is still very low odds of it all completely going to cough.

Yep, not something I would do (even if I had the points).

 

[Stargazer]

OK I am new to all of this looking to book my first classic rewards seat. I am totally open as to time and destination. Just been playing around with the Qantas booking system only to find NIL redemptions possible. I looked as far forward as October to various destinations and there wasn’t a single seat available. I have read hundreds of posts in different threads over the last two weeks and it seems that many members are taking advantage of classic rewards redemptions in business and first class. How do you do it. Does status with Qantas make a difference. I am bronze so at the bottom of the pole. I am thinking that the only way forward is to use Award Flight Assist. Help needed.

 

[Pushka]

OK I am new to all of this looking to book my first classic rewards seat. I am totally open as to time and destination. Just been playing around with the Qantas booking system only to find NIL redemptions possible. I looked as far forward as October to various destinations and there wasn’t a single seat available. I have read hundreds of posts in different threads over the last two weeks and it seems that many members are taking advantage of classic rewards redemptions in business and first class. How do you do it. Does status with Qantas make a difference. I am bronze so at the bottom of the pole. I am thinking that the only way forward is to use Award Flight Assist. Help needed.

Try doing a 'multi search' and throw up some unusual transit places. Eg Japan KL. That forces Qantas to throw up more options than the single search. Make sure you select 'flexible with dates' so you see more options. Qatar just aren't releasing many seats but Cathay and MAS seems to have more options, even the JAL options.

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks Pushka. Will select multi search and flexible with dates. But the rest of your post doesn’t make much sense to me. Need to dumb down your replies and add a little bit more context. Perhaps an example. I am interested in a simple Mel/Sin/Mel flight. How do you insert unusual transit places?

 

[levelnine]

You aren't searching enough.

There's tonnes of MEL-SIN availability in, for example, February next year. Not much of it is on Qantas' direct flights, but if you're willing to fly via HKG on Cathay or on Jetstar, you have options:

Post automatically merged: Nov 12, 2022

For more guidance, check out the AFF guide to searching for classic flight rewards: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Qantas Frequent Flyer

 

[levelnine]

And some direct MEL-SIN business class availability on Qantas flights:

 

[Stargazer]

All right I am lost. How did you find the direct flights on Qantas. I looked and looked. What am I doing wrong? Secondly you mentioned if I am wiiling to fly on Cathy or jetstar to Hong Kong. How do I access a Qantas classic award if I use the cathay or Jetstar booking system. As you can see I don’t know which way to do a booking.